The surf community proved to be a big stepping stone for Howard, who found himself playing to packed audiences long before his music spread beyond the U.K. beaches. He continued developing his style, too, adding a percussive element to his playing by learning to rap his knuckles across the guitar body between strums.
A European tour with Xavier Rudd helped him build a wider audience in late 2008, as did the release of EPs like These Waters and Old Pine. By the Time Howard finished recording his full- length debut, Every Kingdom, in autumn 2011, he?d signed a major-label deal with Island Records (the same label that once released music by John Martyn) and graduated to headliner status, thanks to growing fan bases in England, Germany, France, and Holland.
Now Ben hits the road for a full length Canada & United States run headlining from top to bottom. If you haven’t seen Ben Howard hit the stage, this is a European musician, compared to Bon Iver, you don’t want to miss. Check him out in Boulder at the historic Boulder Theater on Saturday, September 29th at 8:30 pm.
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